Two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani put on a masterful display Wednesday evening, connecting on a leadoff home run and delivering five innings of shutout pitching as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 on the road.
Ohtani improved to 4-2 on the mound, surrendering just three hits while issuing two walks and recording four strikeouts across 88 pitches. Four relief pitchers completed the five-hit shutout, helping Los Angeles capture their first series victory of the season against their National League West division rivals.
Padres starter Randy Vasquez fell to 5-2 after allowing six hits and three runs over 4 1/3 innings of work.
The game opened with Ohtani crushing a high fastball over the wall in deep right-center field, just beyond the reach of leaping center fielder Jackson Merrill, for his eighth home run of the campaign. The unsuccessful leap appeared to injure Merrill, who exited the contest after four innings with what seemed to be a back injury.
In other action around the majors:
Brewers 5, Cubs 0
Kyle Harrison dominated with two hits allowed across seven shutout frames, helping visiting Milwaukee complete a three-game sweep of Chicago. Harrison moved to 5-1 while fanning 11 batters and dropping his ERA to 1.77. David Hamilton collected two singles and a triple, scoring twice and driving in one run, while William Contreras also recorded three hits and crossed the plate once for Milwaukee, winners of six of their last seven contests. DL Hall worked two innings to finish the two-hit shutout.
Cubs starter Edward Cabrera dropped to 3-2, surrendering four runs with only one earned across three innings before departing one pitch into the fourth due to a blister on his right middle finger. Chicago has dropped a season-high five straight games and nine of their past 11.
Reds 9, Phillies 4
Andrew Abbott captured his fourth consecutive victory while Nathaniel Lowe doubled twice and knocked in three runs as visiting Cincinnati defeated Philadelphia in the series finale. The Reds split their six-game road trip while the Phillies suffered just their sixth loss in 22 games and their first series defeat under new manager Don Mattingly.
Lowe’s two-run double in the seventh stretched Cincinnati’s advantage to 7-4 before Sal Stewart capped the scoring with a two-run homer in the ninth.
Rays 5, Orioles 3
Two-out hits from Jonathan Aranda and Richie Palacios in the eighth inning sparked Tampa Bay’s comeback victory over Baltimore, wrapping up a three-game series sweep in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays managed only two hits through seven innings before erupting for four runs in their fourth straight triumph. Junior Caminero and Hunter Feduccia, who went deep, each collected two hits to help the Rays finish a 5-1 homestand.
Pete Alonso and Samuel Basallo homered for the Orioles, but it wasn’t sufficient to prevent their sixth loss in eight games. Shane Baz delivered his finest pitching performance of the season against his former club, tossing six innings of one-run baseball.
Guardians 3, Tigers 2 (10 innings)
Angel Martinez’s triple brought home the decisive run in the 10th inning as Cleveland beat host Detroit to move within one victory of completing a four-game sweep. Jose Ramirez contributed an RBI double in the 10th against Tyler Holton, who fell to 0-4, as the Guardians won for the eighth time in nine games. Colin Holderman improved to 2-0 by striking out both batters he faced.
Zach McKinstry opened the bottom of the 10th with an RBI single, but Cade Smith retired the next three hitters for his 16th save. The Tigers have now lost 13 of their last 15 games.
Twins 4, Astros 1
Ryan Kreidler smashed a three-run homer and Joe Ryan fanned a season-high nine batters, powering Minnesota past Houston in Minneapolis. Victor Caratini launched a solo homer among his two hits as the Twins won the deciding game of a three-game series. Ryan moved to 3-3, permitting one run on four hits over six innings. Andrew Morris retired the side in the ninth for his first career save.
Christian Vazquez delivered an RBI single and Cam Smith had two of five hits for the Astros, who have dropped eight of their past 12 games. Mike Burrows fell to 2-6 after giving up seven runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Pirates 7, Cardinals 0
Spencer Horwitz homered as Pittsburgh emphatically ended a four-game losing streak with a victory at St. Louis. Carmen Mlodzinski improved to 4-3 by throwing five scoreless innings for the Pirates, who out-hit the Cardinals 15-5. Four relievers completed the shutout. Pittsburgh rookie Konnor Griffin went 4-for-5 and scored three runs.
JJ Wetherholt finished 2-for-4 for the Cardinals, who had won four of their previous five games. Michael McGreevy fell to 3-3 after being charged with three runs in five-plus innings.
